Miscellaneous

One of the fees that comes along with buying a house is a “transaction fee”. This one is often forgotten, but it’s one of themes cubical ones. This is a sizable chunk of money that is used basically for processing all the paperwork involved when buying or selling a house.

A transaction fee is also called a “broker service fee” or “admin fees”. It’s the cost of making the transaction happen, the two biggest ones are managing the deal itself, and keeping up with and storing the paperwork. It’s what the brokerage charges the buyers/sellers. Because it’s the buyers/sellers who are paying it, it’s the real estate agent’s job to pass this cost along to them, otherwise the agent will probably lose that out of their commission.

Pretty much, the seller’s agent will pay the brokerage the fee, and pass the fee along to the seller. The fee can be anywhere from $300 - $650. The dime doesn’t stop here, here are a few other fees that are linked in with the transaction fee.

Transaction fees can also involve escrow, title homeowners association, city and county transfer taxes, Some of these fees get sent straight to the city. Like in San Francisco, the buyer usually pays for the escrow, title, and whatever homeowners association move-in fees are involved in the transaction. On the other hand the seller will be paying the city and county transfer taxes, along with the HOA move-out fees.

Some other places, those roles are swapped or changed slightly.

Compliance fees

Sometimes when you buy a home it isn’t exactly in the best shape. You’ll need to spend some extra money on compliance fees, which are getting your home compliant with the local codes. Different states, cities, and counties have different compliance fees.

Parts of the country that are more prone to droughts, earthquakes, and fires...

There’s going to be a new way o doing things at the credit agencies after the Equifax consumer data hack. The agencies Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian will be receiving embedded regulators to keep any breach, no matter how big or small, from happening again. Companies should be ready and willing to take on this new task-force.

In order to gain the trust back of the consumer, and the marketplace, and create new ways of doing things and improving their standards, they will absolutely have to put 100% effort and commitment to this. The ways of old won’t protect us anymore and criminals have found ways to circumvent the firewalls. Whatever the new plan to protect us and our information will be, the agencies must welcome it and be ready to get to work.

The Equifax breach reached 143 million Americans, which is 43% of the entire population. The scary part isn’t only the fact that all the information of almost half the country was exposed, it was when Equifax disclosed it six weeks later!

In the wake of all this chaos, the CEO took an early retirement and investigations begun. Keep in mind that this data breach was far worse than the Home Depot’s and Targets’s breach in the last couple years.

Let’s all hope business leaders and Congress can get this figured out!

A real estate agent typically makes 5% - 6% of the sale price of the home. Both agents will usually split that 6%. However, negotiations are what it’s all about. These are net predetermined numbers, but the average is 5% - 6% and the agents will divide their earnings between themselves.

Who pays the commission?

The seller of the property is the one who is on the hook. They pay both agents commission. The buyer is never responsible for paying commissions. The buyer isn’t getting away scott free though, they pay the closing costs.

Are commission fees negotiable?

The most common way this is done is when the agent represents both the buyer and seller. If this is the case they will often lower their commission fees. This is what is known as “dual agency”.

How commission works for buyers

If the seller is clever, and truly feel it is justified, they can raise the listing price in order to pass the cost along to the buyer. This is done by the buyer pays closing costs, and they get a little pricer as the listing price is increased. Again, the buyer is mainly responsible for closing costs, which doesn’t allow them to pay nothing.

Do you pay commission if you don’t buy a home?

No! Agents are paid once a transaction has taken place, so if you don’t buy a home, there is no commission to be paid to the agent. Agents can protect themselves by drafting a buyer’s agency agreement which is a contract binding you to them for whatever terms and conditions they may set.

What if the home doesn’t sell?

Typically not. Again, agents are paid after a transaction has been made, so if the home doesn’t sell there’s no commission to be paid.

But, read your contract and make sure you don’t end up owning them money after the home sits on the market for a long while. It has happened where...

The new American trend of destination parties has become quite popular. Across the country millennial's are flying to different cities and celebrating events with their friends, most common are wedding bachelor(ette) parties. These expensive trips add up fast over the years.

A study by Zillow has concluded that if a person travels to nine or 10 destination parties they will have spent almost $14,000. This is enough for a 35% down payment on a medium priced home.

Owning a home is a call to a lot of millennial's, but a lot of them struggle to save enough for an adequate down payment.

The average destination bachelor party cost him $1500, while the average bachelorette cost $1100. This is all according to the wedding website, The Knot. If one person goes on a 10 of these destination trips they will have spent more than enough money for a down payment on a modestly priced home.

And some markets this amount of money will get you as much as 50% down payment by Pittsburgh and Cleveland, while in other markets like LA and San Francisco you will only have 4%or 5%.

Bachelor and bachelorette parties are not the only wedding expense. Hundreds of dollars are spent on clothes for the wedding, presents for certain party members, and travel costs to the wedding. On average, bridal party members spend an average of $888, and this is just to be in the party.

Figure out how much you can actually spend on a home based on your income, savings, and your debts. Spend your money wisely and don't buy things you can't afford.

If you're searching for a home and you've found one you like, but the official status is "active contingent" is it still possible to get this home?

What does it mean?

If a home's status reads "active contingent" all that means is the buyer has given their offer, but with contingencies. A contingency is an issue that needs to be resolved before the sale can be final. The contingencies that appear fairly often are a homes inspection, buyer getting approved for a loan, and the buyer being able to sell their home. Once all the contingencies are met, the sale process can proceed.

What's the difference between active contingent and sale pending?

The active contingent means several issues are currently being resolved, while sale pending simply means there were no contingencies, or they have all been met.

So does this mean you shouldn't put an offer in for an active contingent?

The odds aren't likely, but it still doesn't mean you shouldn't cast your line. Who knows, your offer may be more reasonable as attractive, and they decide to call a meeting. The only time you shouldn't is when the seller's agent says they are no longer accepting bids.

So if you're going to submit an offer just to see what happens, you better make it one hell of an attractive offer. Stranger things have happened than seller's jumping ship to the backup offer.

Offer a fair price, ideally zero contingencies, as is, and a local lender is about perfect.

Why do colleges keep raising the tuition rates for students, who are already taking out massive loans to pay for their education. These universities aren’t full of dummies, they know how economics work, yet they still raise their prices despite burdening their customers and hurting the economy. One of the most major ways it’s hurting the economy is preventing young graduates from buying a home.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York published their research and it’s the first to quantify the impact of recent rate hikes in colleges. Since 2009, we have seen student debt Double to more than $1.4 trillion; and homeownership is declining from young Americans 28-30. The news about this will impact the economy because paychecks aren’t large enough to cover the expenses. When people buy a home, it’s almost guaranteed they will continue to spend, and spend big on things like furniture, tools, appliances, etc. It’s not hard to see that the drop in home buying is affecting the economy in other ways.

35% of the drop in homeownership by young Americans from 2007 to 2015 is largely due to higher student loan debt. The study surveyed the entire sample size of 28-30 year-olds despite if they forfeited a college education, and suggested that the drop in home buying from this demographic is likely even greater.

hey study also suggests that if tuition rates had stayed where they were in 2001, more than 360,000 young people would be homeowners in 2015. That would've made the total roughly 2.9 million 28-30 year-olds owning a home. Keep in mind this does not take count for other millennial's who are outside the age range also crippled by student debt.

More than likely the total number of millennial's opting out of buying a home has grown since the period the economist studied. What's really fascinating is that since the constant yearly increase of raising tuition student debt has prison 13% every year,...

Zillow has just come out with some new data: the average U.S. homeowner spends an extra $9,080 on their home each year, and sometimes up to $16,000 in certain cities. Homes cost way more than just their listing price, so this is a major point to consider when debating if you can actually afford a house.

Some buyers only look at homes listing price, or monthly mortgage when they are determining if they c an afford it. The hidden costs are what they should be thinking about that will determine if they actually can or not.

Zillow concluded there are “unavoidable costs” like taxes, utilities, insurance, etc. and homeowners pay an average of $6,060 for these. These costs are highest in cities like Seattle, New York, and San Francisco, and lowest in cities like Indianapolis where the average is $4,700.

Then there are maintenance and repair costs. These include repairs to your HVAC system, yard maintenance, plumbing, carpet cleaning etc. These run the average homeowner to a total of $3,020 per year. Seattle also takes the cake for the highest maintenance cost here too. San Antonio was awarded with the lowest.

What is important for potential homeowners is to figure out how much the home will ultimately cost you, and what you truly can afford. Know where you stand when it comes to finances and know what you can reasonably spend each month. While the house with the luxurious deck catches your eye, keeping it in pristine condition may cost you more than you are ready to shell out.

For the record San Francisco has the highest cost of living for homeowners at $16,290. Boston was next at $14,377. To finish the top five San Diego placed third at $13,488, Seattle at $12,924, and Los Angeles at $12,556.

According to Zillow, a third of all buyers exceed their budget when buying a home. To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, find a budget calculator to help you better organize your monthly expenses....

Real estate is different throughout the world. Each country has their own culture, laws, practices, norms, taboos, etc. They all come to life when dealing with business such as real estate. Let’s take a look at the European way of handling real estate, and how different it really is.

The MLS is American

European real estate doesn’t have a centralized database, or industry infrastructure for that matter. They simply don’t have one. However, Japan and Mexico have been working on creating their own version of the MLS.

There’s no real structure for real estate information, as one listing may contain several different agents. Since this is the case, the buyer is the most important part of the deal, not so much the listing itself.

The way it goes is anyone can bring a buyer and that’s not a strong point for the industries professionalism. Accompanied with other factors, this is one reason why real estate isn’t viewed as gloriously as it is here in America.

Not much entrepreneurial spirit in Europe

Another major difference is the company and office structure. A large portion of European agents work in small offices who are content with their lives. Typically the office is a small shop right on the street, and they have anywhere from three to six agents, and the owner is one of them. The owner is also usually the top selling agent.

Europe is changing though. The traditional real estate models are fading as technology is pushing them out, and creating a greater significance on franchising.

European markets have seen some American brands like Century 21 and Remax. The emergence of these companies have changed the way europeans do business. They have a new way of thinking about business, and a real sense of professionalism.

The bigger firms began offering more resources in marketing and training to its agents, which...

Empty walls can be quite the bore in a beautiful home. You'll want to show off your personality when you move in to a new home, and the way to do that is through art. He really special piece of art can transform a room in ways you cannot imagine. It expresses who you are and your personal interests.

Jumping into the art culture can be scary when you really know nothing about it, but here are a few tips to know from art that you can remember for life!

Stay within your budget

Chances are if you have to look at the price tag of art you cannot afford the real stuff. So go check out your local flea market’s where Art is made locally and it's everywhere. You can find some great stuff there for not a lot of money.

Know your own goals

Do you need to ask yourselfDo you need to ask yourself a couple questions. Do you want to decorate the entire house, or just a few rooms? Or are you wanting to invest in art and hope one day original pieces become worth something significant? These questions will determine what kind of money you want to spend on art. If you only have $1500 then you may be only able to afford one piece. If you're looking to decorate portions of your house you may need to buy several and expensive pieces of art which will serve its intended purpose.

Check out theCheck out the art circuits

Checking outChecking out the local art galleries can help you determine your own it taste, and make you more confident in knowing which art you fancy. Also you are able to meet local artists whose careers you may be interested in the following.

ConsiderConsider auctions

No matter your budget art auctions are open to everyone. You were able to see what...

In 2017 we live in a world where we have instant information at our fingertips, and are baffled when processes become slow. We can click and tap to articles, restaurants, sport casts; we even have next day delivery on amazon packages. When it comes to getting a mortgage the process is not as fast. It's much slower than you may have originally thought.

The mortgage process is quite involved, especially concerning the legal documents. There are several moving pieces in the process and just one hangup can slow it down tremendously.

How long does it take to get a mortgage?

The mortgage process takes an average of 45 days, and can be as long as 60. With all the moving parts, it begins with getting pre-approved. Next is a home appraisal, and then obtaining the actual loan. If you had any financial trouble in the past the lender will mercilessly inspect it and slow you down enough to put you behind schedule.

Start the mortgage process as soon as possible

It is not advised to begin the process once you find your perfect home. The time to begin is the moment you think you want to buy a piece of property.

Most sellers will require the buyer get pre-approved for a mortgage even before they consider their offer. The lender will need to check your credit score, debt to income ratio, and plenty more of your Financial information. Some people have steady income, where others have seasonal, and depending on your situation the process can take anywhere from one week to several months.

When you finally get approved, the lender won't tell you how much of a loan you're getting and then you can begin shopping for a new home.

One important thing to do before you even get started on your pre-approval process, he's figure out which mortgage rates and winters are right for you. Most lenders offer different terms and conditions.

After you find a home there's a couple more steps. Even after your offer...

A lien is bad, but it's not the worst thing that can happen. It happens from time to time, and they must be dealt with.

Getting behind on your mortgage, bills, other payments, and diving further into debt by borrowing money to pay those debts will eventually end up as a lien against your property.

When the creditors start calling and you ignore them, you're probably thinking what can they do when I have no money. Well the lien is in heir power.

Creditors power

when creditors have been ignored long enough and they want you to know they mean business, they will place a lien against the largest asset you have, which is most likely your house. In the event a lien is placed on your home, your actions will be severely limited. Taking out a second mortgage or a home equity loan will surely be off the table.

If you're thinking of selling your home, the lien needs to be paid off in full by the closing date, or use the proceeds of the sale.

Common liens

There isn't only one type of lien creditors can place on you. Here are three more common types of liens.

Mechanics lien: these arise when general contractors work on your home, or repair man, or any labor with skilled crafts. They may place a mechanics lien on your home as insurance to make sure they get paid.

Judgment lien: if you are in court for any reason, and lose the lawsuit, the wedding party can file a judgment lien against your home until the payment is collected. These are usually imposed by lawyers if you neglect to pay your lawyer bills.

Tax lien: neglecting to pay your federal, state, or county taxes results in the government placing a tax lien on your home.

The best thing you can do for yourself if you have a lien is get that taken care of as quickly as possible. You do this by talking to the lienholder and negotiate the payment.

Owning a home is a pricey endeavor. It requires attention and upkeep simply because things get old a need to be replaced. Having a safety net will make the joys of homeownership a bit better, but be prepared to shell out some cash for those repairs.

For the first-timers, it's always a rude awakening when they wake up to a broken hot water heater, or come home to a busted AC unit. This time around, it's your problem, not your landlords! What's a first-time home owner to do when crises strikes?

What's a home warranty?

Home warranties are just like any other warranty you buy for any other appliance, like a dishwasher or TV. They cover nearly every running system in your home, and cost anywhere from $300 to $1,000 per year.

The beauty of home warranties is you don't have to go shopping for repair men, nor do you have to pay out of pocket for the repair itself.

All you need to do is call your home warranty provider and explain your situation. From there, the company will contact the repairmen they're partnered with and send them over. Your warrant premium will cover the cost, but expect a co-pay in the ballpark of $50.

Who should buy home warranties?

These are well suited for first-time home buyers. They are used to calling the landlord when problems arise, and this is similar just a little different.

Homeowners who are used to working long hours and don't have the time to tinker with repairs really benefit from these warranties. Those who also benefit are owners who don't have the know-how to fix things on their own.

In many cases, one big disaster can show how important these warranties are and can pay for themselves quickly.

Warranties don't just belong to first-time home buyers or the busy, they're made for everyone. People who buy homes and pay attention to the...

How often do you walk into your closet and tell yourself you’ll lean it out soon? We all tell ourselves that, but rarely do it. It’s probably time to get rid of a bunch of clothes you haven’t worn in years. Take the initiative and clean that closet! It will be easy and worth your time. You’ll be happy you did and it will only take an hour.

The Purge

Donate just a little time occasionally to clean your closet, or go after it all at once. Keep a container in your closet or bedroom that is a donation bag. Whenever you come across a piece of clothing or an item that you no longer use, toss it in the donation bag. When the bag is full, or you’re finished cleaning out the unused items, take that bag to a donation center.

You can’t wear it if it doesn’t fit

No matter how attached you are to a special pair of paints, if it doesn’t fit, you cannot wear it. It makes zero cents to keep the items that are old and don’t fit right anymore. The only exception is if you are a gym rat and have a plan of wearing it again soon, while being able to hold yourself to a commitment.

New seasons and chances

When the seasons change you bring out a whole new wardrobe. If you didn’t wear that sweater last winter, you won’t be wearing it this winter. If the gaudy tank-tee you love never left your closet last summer, it sure isn’t going to this summer. Get rid of these items!

Use the plus one, minus one approach

Just bought a pair of new jeans? Put them in a nice place in your closet, but dat forget to take out the old pair that are collecting dust. The idea is that if you go hopping and come home...

We never really notice little amounts of money being taken out of our bank account. Weekly, we seem to spend $3 here, $5 there, on small things like items at a gas station, or even a quick lunch. Throughout the course of a month all these little purchases on knick-knacks add up.

We typically have an idea of about how much money we have in our bank accounts, but we seldom pay attention to each transaction. Your financial ship is sailing full speed ahead, but a little leak may be letting in water to slow you down along the way. Here are some common ways we spend money that slow our ship down, and how to plug that leak.

Bank Fees

Banks are sneaky and they’ll take your money any way they legally can, which is usually through fees. The best way they can is through overdraft foes, and then by issuing paper statements. Sometimes they’ll even charge you a flat fee for not having a certain amount of money in your account. Yes, thats right, they’ll take your money for not having enough money.

Certain banks charge you to move your money around. Also, some banks make you pay for services you really don’t need. So figure out where you bank is taking your money and do everything you can to keep their hands off it.

Food waste

If you ask any American where they spend a good chunk of their money, you will hear food as some common answers. It’s okay to spend money on food, but there’s also food waste involved, no doubt. Americans have the tendency to buy in bulk, which leads to a bunch of it being wasted. The best thing one can do is meal-plan and resist the urge to buy outside of that plan, unless you are 100% sure it will be eaten.

Energy gluttons

Energy is an expense everyone has, but how much they spend is up to the user. Energy consumption varies throughout the year. Winter months we blast our heater, leave it alone in the spring and fall, and blast...

Termites live to eat, and if they are in your walls and/or foundation, your home is under attack. The countless number of termites will be eating day and night without rest. Termites cause billions of dollars of damage every year, and most homeowners don’t know their home is under attack until it is too late. At that point the homeowners ask whether their home insurance covers termite damage. The answer is, nope!

Homeowners insurance doesn’t cover any damage that is preventable, and this includes any insect like bed bugs, fleas, roaches, termites, etc. The way insurance companies look at termites and other bugs is interesting. They figure them to be preventable, because homes deserve maintenance and inspections fairly often. Some insurance companies boldly outline the rejection of coverage for bug infestations.

There is one exception though. It’s called collateral damage. Picture this, termites eat away at a corner of your foundation, and a beam collapses. When that corner of the house collapses, and it takes the second story corner weight with it, insurance will cover the repair of the second story; but the cost of the foundation beam will be out of your pocket.

So it’s clear that homeowners insurance covers unexpected/accidental situations, but nothing that happens over time like termites.

On the plus side several insurance companies offer special policies for “wood destroying insects”. This rather small list includes termites, carpenter ants, and beetles. The cost will depend on where you live. States like California, Arizona, Texas, etc. can have terrible termite problems, while states like Alaska and Maine have very few termites. It all just really matters where you live, so a good way to decide if you need this is to talk to your insurance agent, but don’t buy everything they say.

One way to prevent an infestation is to call pest control to treat your home. Another option is to inspect and treat...

A home's value is not a set number, it is based on what somebody will pay for it. These numbers move almost daily. There are usually two numbers to look at when buying or selling a home. There's the "assessed value", and the "market value", so let's learn the difference.

These numbers seem identical, but they can be vastly different. The assessed value is usually lower and used in different ways.

Market value

The definition of market value is, "The most probable price that a given property will bring in an open market transaction."

Essentially it's the price that a buyer will pay for the property, given the seller accepts that price.

A professional real estate agent is trying to determine a home's market value by looking at a couple of characteristics.

External characteristics: these include the curb appeal, the outside condition of the home, style of home, size of the lot, and availability of public utilities.

Internal characteristics: The number and size of rooms, construction and appliance quality and condition, HVAC systems, and energy efficiency.

Comparable: what the homes nearby are selling for, or have already sold for.

Supply & demand: The number of buyers and sellers in your area.

Location: how desirable of a neighborhood this home is in, the quality of school districts, and the crime rate.

The market value of a home is a good place to begin for a plethora of things. Agents can use the market value to prod sellers to come up with a reasonable asking price for their home. A seller may give an unrealistic number they want for their home, but the agent is there to guide them towards the more realistic...

When you're in the market to buy a home having a clear picture of your finances your first step. If this is also your very first home, the endless list of things to consider is overwhelming. But one of the most important things to keep in the front of your mind is that mortgage lenders are quietly looking at your finances to decide if they should loan to you, and how much.

So slow your roll visiting open houses and checking out neighborhoods; have your finances in check before you do any of this. Knowing your buying power isn't all that exciting, but knowing how these numbers impact your chances of getting a loan are vital to your success.

Here are the 4 numbers lenders are carefully looking over:

1. Credit score

A credit score is the most simple way a lender can see how diligent you are with paying your debts on time. There are five factors that determine this score, and they are weighted differently. The first, and most important factor is your payment history (35%), debts owed (30%), length of credit history (15%), credit mix and new credit (10% each).

A credit score of 620 isn’t great, but it’s not awful. Now having a score in this ballpark won’t deny your chances to get a loan, but it will determine what kind of loan you get. With a lower credit score, you’ll get a higher interest rate, and just the opposite, a higher credit score gets a lower interest rate.

2. Down Payment

Despite credit scores being the most heavily weighted factor, cash still reigns as king. The bigger down payment you throw down on the table, the more buying power you have.

And generally, we all know the 20% down rule, it gives the buyer great benefits over not having a full 20%. One major one is sometimes you don’t need private mortgage insurance with 20% down. When sellers see a potential buyer throw down 20% down payment, they know the buyer is beyond serious, and they instantly jump to the...

There's nothing new to report when I say there is a shortage of houses in the market. The demand is ever rising but homebuilders aren't erecting houses to meet the demand. The land isn't being sold, the permits aren't being filled and good help is difficult to come by.

With the market the way it is, it's clear as to why it belongs to the sellers. Realtor.com has claimed that the average time a home sits on the market across the nation is 3.6 months. These are unseen level since January 2005.

Dallas, TX's average is 42 days, Seattle is 36, while the country's average is 90 days. And to add the fact that interest rates just rose; buyers become a bit more motivated. With mortgage rates expected to rebound, buyers are thinking now is the time to jump in the market. Home prices are raising at twice the rate of average hourly wage, and twice the rate of inflation. Not the best news for first-time buyers, but it could be worse. On the other hand it's great news for empty-nesters and other homeowners who are looking to downsize.

Developers have catered to this demographic by building luxury condominiums in major markets. Baby boomers are selling their ginormous estates and downsizing to accommodate their needs, so developers saw this as an opportunity.

When you hear your house moving at night it could be a variety of things, but a common one is water running through your pipes. If the water is obnoxiously loud, it's a common problem called a water hammer. And if you live in a house that is a minimum of ten years old, you’ve probably woken up to this hammer in the middle of the night. So why does this happen? And how do we make it stop?

What causes water hammering in pipes?

Any normal person would think water flows smoothly throughout pipes, but it's quite the opposite when coming from water tanks. As water is pushed out of the tank into your pipes it's spinning, tumbling, and churning until it eventually meets your faucet. All this is actually audible but we often tune it out. However, often times an increase in water pressure or if it comes to a sudden halt, the pipes begin clanking inside the walls. This is the water hammer we've been talking about.

The cause of the water hammering is by waterlogged air chambers, excess pressure in your pipes, or clogged pipes.

Pipes that hammer are usually in older homes and happen to still use 90° angles in their pipes. The noise is simply shockwaves that are forcing the pipe to move around. Newer homes have become more clever in the way that they fit the pipes through the walls and the material they use like PVC.

If this problem doesn't get resolved in a timely manner the pipe fittings can be stripped and the pipes will burst! Pipes that are installed correctly will contain air pockets that nearly silence the sound.

If the pressure begins to be too much the water will absorb the pocket of air and then that's when the hammering can really be heard.

If you are a do-it-yourself kind of person, and with a little plumbing skill, you can totally do this on your own.

1. If you know exactly where the hammering is coming from, turn off...

Are you thinking of remodeling or renovating? You might say they are the same thing right? Nope! Despite people using these words with the same meaning, they actually are fairly different.

A renovation is basically a facelift on a property; changes will be made to an already existing structure. A remodel is changing the structure through demolition and construction.

If one was to renovate their bathroom they may install new sinks, toilets, throw on some new paint, put down a new tile floor, all while keeping the plumbing and electrical systems in their current place. It could be classified as a remodel if they knocked out any walls, or move some pipes.

Look at it like this, in order to improve the functionality of the home like decreasing or adding structure, you’ve got yourself a remodel. Decorating the essentials, no matter how ordinary, like flooring and new paint, is always considered a renovation.

Most Americans will hire handymen, or professional home repairmen to do their renovations, while remodeling requires industry experts who have much more expertise on the matter.

How different are the costs?

Typically renovations are cheaper because only the decorations or surface details are changed. Most of the renovation projects can be accomplished quickly and on a budget. One thing about remodeling is they usually come with a surprise or two, which can easily put you out of your budget.

On the other side, bigger remodel projects are rather expensive. Even before you begin the physical process of remodeling, it will cost you in permits, and these are rarely cheap. Make sure when you do this, you do it right, so make sure the funding is available. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to pad your budget by 10% to 12%.